It’s not yet clear how powerful the volcanic eruption was or what long-term impact it could have
Satellite image of eruption of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano on Saturday. Photo: Himawari-8/Japan Meterological Agency The spectacular eruption of an undersea volcano near the South Pacific kingdom of Tonga on Saturday generated a tsunami which apparently struck Tongatapu, the main island of the country’s archipelago, which is just 40 miles from the volcano.
The eruption was reportedly heard across the South Pacific, as far away as New Zealand and Australia. Volcano experts said that a shockwave from the eruption moved across the region at something like 600 miles per hour, not far off the speed of sound in air.Satellite imagery shows that a large portion of the island that had been created by the volcano was destroyed prior to the large event on Saturday.
The Tsunami A tsunami warning was declared for all of Tonga after the eruption on Saturday evening. Before communication with Tonga was lost a little more than an hour after the eruption on Saturday, images and videos of large tsunami waves striking the shoreline and inundating coastal communities in were shared on social media. The extent of the damage in the country, which is home to some 105,000 people, remains unclear.
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